Original title: Take over! Alcalás used Nadal’s way to defeat the legendary Spanish tennis successor
What can a year change? Carlos Alcalás will give a lot of answers, like he went from 18 to 19, from 120th to 9th in the ATP rankings, from a crisp defeat to idol Rafael Nadal to three sets win.
On May 6, 2022, the young Spanish teenager defeated the 21-time Grand Slam champion 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 at the “Magic Box Stadium” in Madrid, winning his first match since the two met three times. victory–A year ago, at almost the same time in the same place, he lost to his opponent 1-6, 2-6 and received a “free teaching” from his seniors on his birthday.
With this victory, Alcaraz reached the semifinals of the Madrid Masters men’s singles for the first time in his career, and he will face defending champion Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. If he can win, he will hit his fourth title in a single season. At present, he is tied for the top of the championship list with Nadal and Andrei Rublev with three titles.
This year’s Madrid Masters draw is full of stories, from first-round Andy Murray vs. Dominic Thiem to potential Murray vs. Novak Djokovic, to homegrown The Nadal vs. Alcaraz that fans are looking forward to, and the 59th “Nadal Final” that fans all over the world want to see.
However, the story is only half realized in reality. Murray retired due to injury, and Nadal lost to his compatriots who were 17 years younger than him before encountering his old opponent.
The former 21-time Grand Slam champion and the Murcia teenager met twice at last year’s Madrid Masters and this year’s Indian Wells Masters, winning 2-0 and 2-1 respectively.
It is worth mentioning that in Indian Wells, Nadal suffered a stress rib fracture because of the fierce semi-final match with Alcaraz, and only returned in Madrid this week after resting for more than a month.
At the “Magic Box Stadium”, Alcaraz’s first three rounds were smooth sailing, while Nadal, who was looking for his touch and form, was a little stumped – facing David Goffin in the third round, he played 5 in the second set. After leading by 3 and missing the serve to win the game, he lost 4 games in a row, and was dragged into the deciding set by his opponent to win with difficulty.
Even so, the teenager did not dare to slack off before the game, especially on the clay court where his opponent is best at, “To be honest, I really don’t know how to beat him. He seems to have 1,000 lives and can always Winning tough games. But against the greatest player of all time like him, I don’t have too much mental load.”
In the actual game, Alcalás, who had prepared his attitude and tactics before the game, gave Nadal a dismay in the first set. He hit 19 game-winners and ignited the Manolo Santana Stadium with a multi-round draw from the baseline and an unexpected small ball. 6-2, he easily won the first set.
However, Nadal may not have “1000 lives”, but his spirit of never admit defeat and rich experience in competitions are well known. In the second set, he used a high-angle return to mobilize his opponent. Alcalás fell during a save and applied for medical personnel to enter the court for treatment. The veteran won this set 6-1.
But in the end, it was the 19-year-old who showed infinite physical strength and powerful impact in the final set, locking the score at 6-3.
“What happened?” the young Spaniard wrote on camera after the game.Alcaraz serves.
Alcaraz serves.
what does it mean
“This game means so much to me, and the hard work of every day in the past has paid off today.” Alcalás said in an interview, “Being able to beat Rafa, beat the best clay player in history. , it really means a lot.”
In the second set, Murcia injured his ankle, which affected his performance in that set to a certain extent.
However, just as Nadal is never willing to mention his injuries too much, he was only asked how it was: “It did affect me. But when I lost the second set, I was just thinking , I will definitely be able to get back to form, do the best I can, try every possibility on the pitch, fight to the last point. If there is (the secret), maybe that is the key.”
This is the third time in Alcaraz’s career that he has reached the semi-finals of the ATP Masters. At the same time, he also increased his winning streak against TOP10 players to 5 games.
For Nadal, who had been away from the game for 6 weeks, although it was a pity to lose, he was respected by Alcaraz and the audience when he left. “Rafa, we all stand up and applaud you,” wrote the social media of the Madrid Masters.
“My reading of the game is that I came here almost unprepared and played three games. That’s the truth and like I said before, I know it’s going to be a tough week. I played two and a half hours today, three games in total. From that point of view, I am happy and excited and we will continue to move forward with optimism.”
Nadal, who is about to celebrate his 36th birthday next month, is indeed “airborne” to Madrid. His appearance at this stop is more to check his recovery, slowly improve his state and strive to keep the best of himself. to Roland Garros.
“We’ll see what happens next, you have to believe in yourself. You have to recover from game to game, like yesterday, day one and today. From there, make up your mind, stick with it, in the right place. Go on the road; no matter what happens along the way, know that you have more important goals to achieve than heartbreak.”
His goal is to be able to be in Paris in good shape, to fight a battle that is physical and fit, keeping the best of himself and the best tennis possible there.
Nadal and Alcalás.
are they really like
When Alcaraz, who was born in 2003, was born, especially when he became the youngest male player in the TOP10 since Nadal, many people automatically brought him into the tournament and even the Grand Slam as a young player. Mallorca Junior.
The Murcia teenager himself said that although the two play differently – he may be technically more like Roger Federer, Nadal is indeed his idol along the way.
After losing in the semifinals of the Indian Wells Masters, he said in an interview show, “I have always been able to learn from Rafa the kind of fighting spirit that never gives up. A lot of people have seen the Australian game, he Lost the first two sets, but miraculously came back. What I learned from that game is the fighting spirit, which is to never give up and stick to the last goal.”
“Never give up, stick to the last ball.” In Madrid, the winning Alcaraz almost said the same thing again: “to do my best, try everything on court, fight until the last ball.” This spirit is both his Innate, but also acquired by coaches and seniors who continue to instill and learn from him.
Speaking of which, Hofre Porta, head of technical coaching at the Spanish Tennis Federation, said Alcalás and Nadal were “too alike”.
He is a native of Mallorca. He had long-term cooperation with Carlos Moya and Nadal as a teenager. Now he has been working on discovering more young Spanish tennis players, and teaching them while also teaching their skills. Emphasis on “human quality”.
“They have so many similarities, the most notable one is bravery. They will exercise their willpower to accept every challenge, which is so important in competitive sports. The second is hard work, they don’t Will deliberately measure how much effort I put in, just keep doing it – it’s not tactical, it’s necessary.”
He saw this in Nadal, who was 10 years old, and he saw it in Alcaraz, who was the same age. “Even if they can’t play their best tennis sometimes, even if they make mistakes, they’re just as brave.”
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